Under The Sky So Dark
by SSpeedy
Summary: The sequal of Below Sky Trouble. On a scouting mission for water, the Pirates travel to the 'Under Archipelago'. But they find much more then water. Chapter 12 up. finally completed
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I got this idea from a nightmare I had a few months ago. After thinking about it for a while, I desided to write it into a fic. It's alittle long. **

* * *

It's just another dull day in Skyland. At least that's what Mahad thinks. While Cortes is scouting the regions, Mahad is leaned back in the Hyperion hoping for action. 

"Captain, water has been detected in the Under Archipelago," Wayan announces over the radio. He reloads the Mosquito into its hatch.

"Proceed with caution," Cortes replies. "I'm sure we still remember what happened last time."

Mahad leans over and looks out the window as the Saint Nazaire descends below the clouds. The Hyperion follows. Mahad looks out at the landscapes. Over a few of the blocks are the remains of patrollers and damaged houses. His mind is quickly turned away to keep track of the falling altitude.

Finally, they land on a block with a building covering most of its layout. The rebels gather their weapons and walk aboard the block. Cortes opens the door only to have it detach and shatter on the ground.

"This place has been closed down for awhile," Cortes said behind coughing. He waves the rising dust from his face. "But that's not an excuse to let your guard down."

"Typical," Mahad yawns. He wanders into the open room. "It's to dark in here… and where'd Wayan go?"

Mahad turns around when he feels a tap on his shoulder. Wayan turns on a flashlight and beams it up to his face, laughing. Mahad jumps and runs back to the laughing pirates.

"We'll split up," Cortes says. He hands out flashlights to everyone. "If you find water or trouble, contact me."

They part from each other. Dahlia scouts outside of the building. Wayan takes the right corridor. Cortes heads for the corridor in the middle and Mahad and Lena proceed to the left corridor.

About five minutes pass and nothing has been reported. Mahad and Lena are scouting the hallway doors and announcing the contents. All they found is old desks, cabinets, chairs, a skeleton or two, fallen chandeliers, busted radios, paper clumped around the rooms, shattered glass, rusty guns, broken swords, scattered computer equipment, and rats.

Mahad opens a door and aims his flashlight inside. "A Brigadier," he said. He closes the door. He pauses. The door is thrown open to double check. "A BRIGADIER!" Mahad drops the flashlight and pelts as hard as he can down the dark unidentified corridor.

"Mahad," Lena shouts, examining the robot before chasing after her spooked brother. "Mahad, the Brig is dead! Come back!"

The corridor opens to a room. Lena beams her light around the dark room. Finally, she hears a large splash followed by cries for help. She aims the light toward the source. Mahad has fallen into a flood of water! And neither of them can swim!

"Don't panic, Mahad," Lena yells, in panic herself. She sprints back and forth along the water edge. Finally, at the top of her lungs, she screams.

The blood curdling scream echoes through the building. Instantly, without hesitation, Cortes, Wayan, and Dahlia race down the corridor leaving their imaginations to think about what they might find.

"What's wrong, Lena!?" Cortes asks, holding her by the shoulders to calm her down.

"Mahad is drowning," she staggers to say.

Cortes aims his flashlight out to the water to reveal Mahad whom is struggling to keep his head above the water. Wayan runs forward and dives in after. He swims as fast as he can when Mahad disappears. Wayan dives under, but his flashlight dies forcing him to surface.

"I lost him," He announces after two more tries. Suddenly, a small lamp lands in the water in front of him, followed by the dive of a tall skinny human.

Soon after, the man lifts the water logged Mahad out of the water. He grabs his still lit lamp and help Wayan swim to the worried rebels with Mahad.

Cortes pulls Mahad out of the water and checks him. "He'll need CPR," he says. They looked up at Dahlia.

Dahlia rolls her eyes and kneels next the Mahad. She applies pressure to Mahad's chest, closes his nose, and presses her lips to his.

"Ahhg," Dahlia jumps. "He put his tongue in my mouth!"

The pirates stare at Mahad who is on his hand and knees, coughing, and laughing up the water.

"Looks like he made a full recovery," says the white-haired man.

After hugging her soaked brother, Lena shines her flash light to the stranger's face. Her eyes widen. "Al… Alse?"

"After a month, you still remember me," he said with a smile. Sure enough, it was Alse. Not much has changed about him. But with his pail skin, it shows weakness to light. He winces. "Would you lower your flash light, please?"

"How is it that you're still alive," asked Cortes reaching for his gun.

Alse pulls his head back and glares. Something wasn't right. They fell silent. It wasn't long when the silence was broken when a hum started to approach the block.

"Cortes," Cheng says over the radio. "Cortes, a Sphere ship has just approached on the other side of the block."

Cortes clutched his fist, stood up, and struck Alse in the face. He didn't hit the floor, nor lost his balance. His head merely tilted.

"You sent a signal to the Sphere, didn't you," Cortes demanded, clutching Alse by his turtle neck collar. He's quickly pulled away by Wayan and Lena. Alse, scared, runs out of the room and down the corridor.

"Now was not the time," Wayan says.

"You're right," Cortes sighed. "But now we need to get out of here. Where'd he go?"

Just when he asked that question, they hear a yell of horror down the hall. It was Alse. They ran after him, knowing they would most likely run into the Sphere.

Lena was the first to enter the room and sees Alse tumbled backwards on the ground. She goes to help him up, only the freeze when she senses another presence. She slowly looks up.

The rebels darted in, only to stand frozen at the door way. Standing about fifteen feet tall, with its mouth open, drooling, lightly growling, and hungry looking was a black monster. A demon, if you will. It was thin and tall. It had a narrow nose and glowing yellow eyes. From the narrow of its eyes, two antenna-like horns came from its head. At the ends were claws that rested by the wrist on the shoulders. It had normal claws connected to the shoulders. They were long and powerful looking and were drooped downward. The spine of the demon was slumped so it could fit in the room. Following the spine line was a long and powerful tail. And finally, it perched on its' long legs. This showed speed.

They remained quiet at the presence of the monster. Their hearts were racing. Slowly, Lena and Alse crept backwards from the demon. They were holding their breath as they did so. It lowered one of its normal claws until it pressed against the ground. Lena and Alse paused. So did the demon.

It was unbearable for his mentally weak heart. Alse shoved Lena off of him and darted out the room. Knowing it's too late to change a thing, the pirate's followed. It had an instant reaction. The demon lunged out the door using its legs like springs. Crashing into the walls and tearing up the ceiling, the demon chases the pirates through the building, gaining on them fast.

They were scared. A Sphere ship has landed somewhere out side and there's a demon inside chasing them. Without knowing it, they had split up. All six of them were running alone.

* * *

Alse was still running. He was crying and flailing against the walls. His legs become weak and he staggers down the hallway. Alse opens his eyes when he realizes that there's no one around. From the distance, he can hear the demon's claws hit the floor. He takes off once more. Alse limps around a corner only to find himself running into something.

"Sorry," He murmured. He realizes that it is a human he ran into. Alse jumped back to see another monster standing before him. His original: Oslo.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So you don't get confused, each boarder starts over like a 'meanwhile' kinda thing. Meep...**

* * *

Cortes had made it outside when he realized that he was separated from the other rebels. Cortes looks back inside the entrance hoping that they were fallen behind. But no one was in sight. And the demon wasn't chasing him either. 

"Dammit," Cortes grumbled. He was about to run back in the building but there was something behind him. Cortes turns around. His eyes widened. There were many more of the demons. Only these were half the size of the first one. They didn't see the startled Cortes yet. But they have found the Saint Nazaire. And inside, Cheng was hiding.

Cortes' hand was shaking as he tried to focus his gun at the demons. But his attention is diverted back into the building. The stomping of the big demon was getting louder.

CRASH! An energy arrow busted out of a window and through the skull of a demon, killing it. From the shattered window jumped Dahlia. She ran straight out, only to be stopped by the little demons. She turns around and starts running the way she came.

CRASH! The entire wall same tumbling down and up jumped the demon. It was high in the air and lunging like a lion. It pounced on Dahlia and had her under its claws. One of it's' antennas rose and picked her up, lifting her above the demon's head. The claw at the end of the antenna opened and Dahlia dropped to the ground, only to be caught by the head with the other demon's antenna claw.

Cortes was staring with his jaw hanging. He clenched his teeth and swallowed hard. He steadies his hand and shoots at the giant lizard's head multiple times, but no good. It merely shook off the bullets and drew its attention toward Cortes.

* * *

Lena was running in search of her brother. Or any other pirate, for that matter. She slows down and stops at a corner. She peeked around the corner and spots a Brigadier guarding the back exit of the building. Lena looked around on the ground and picked up a rock and threw it down the corridor. It worked; the Brig turned to investigate where the rock had fallen. 

Lena darted by the entrance of the corridor. She picked up speed down the dark hallway. Until the tip of her boot hit the step of a stair case causing her to trip.

"Eeep," She yelped. Lena takes a moment to recover from her fall. She crawls to her knees and looks up the corridor. There was a door that was bleeding dim sunlight. Lena got up to her feet and carefully jogged up the stairs and out the door.

Lena was on the roof. From which she heard a crash followed by a scream. She ran to the edge of the roof and got on her knees to see what was happening.

The demon was moving towards Cortes. He was backing up and shooting at the demon with his ammo running low. But something happened. The demon stopped and looked at the Saint Nazaire. The demon took off after the ship, jumped, and landed on the nose.

"Oh no," Cortes muffled. "Cheng!"

It was after the ones in most fear. The monster thrashed its claw into the windshield and sent it's free antenna claw in the grab the defenseless Cheng.

Lena was absorbing as much light as possible. While the demon had its back turn, she fired the strongest seijin attack available. It wasn't strong enough. It only grabbed its attention. The demon jumped off the Saint Nazaire and faced Cortes and Lena. It let out a roar which seemed to give the smaller demons a command.

They swarmed Cortes who shot as many as he could until his ammo was no more. He was soon in the grasp of one of the demons. The big demon targeted Lena and ran after her. She tumbled back and started retreating, but the demon is to fast. It caught her. And with that, Lena screamed as loud as she could.

* * *

Mahad was in the room where he almost drowned. He was tired from running. On his hands and knees in front of Alse's lamp, Mahad was catching his breath. He takes one more death breath, picks up the lamp, stands up, and stretches. Mahad turns on his heels and walks down a corridor. 

_It's so quiet now…_ He thinks to himself. _I just HAD to ask for action. And we got it… _

Mahad hears a crash. He races down the hall trying to follow the direction it came from. But the corridors were stretched like a maze, and he got confused. Mahad paused, trying to figure out which corridor will lead him toward the crash.

Then he heard a scream. Almost the same scream he heard before his head went under the water. "Lena," He called out, looking down the left corridor entrance. "LENA!" Mahad darted down the hallway. He raced around a corner and found himself banging heads and hitting the floor with another.

"Ma-Mahad," Alse groans. "That hurt…"

"Oh," Mahad stood up, pulling Alse off the ground. "I'm sorry."

Mahad noticed Alse's worried expressing. Then he had seen two other shadows on the ground. He holds up the lamp to see who was casting the shadows: Oslo and Diwan. He's grabbed by the wrist and pulled down the hall by Alse. Mahad starts running along side him.

But something stopped them. Multiple growling came from in front of their path. Those little demons were coming their way. The range of the lamp's glow couldn't reach them, but their eyes were glowing bright yellow. And there were many after them.

Mahad and Alse turned around and zoomed by the two guardians. Oslo was the first to direct his attention to what they were running from. But it was too late, for one of the demons lunged up and bit his head. Diwan, tried to make a break for it, but another had clawed her in the back and grabbed her with its antenna claws.

Mahad and Alse start to slow down. They were wheezing and their legs were shaking. Alse collapsed.

"Alse," Mahad gasped. He grabs the fallen man by the shoulder and helped him back up. "Don't give up yet, buddy."

"No way we can out run those things," says Alse. "Did you see what they did to Oswald?"

"It's Oslo," Mahad corrects him. They both started to pace faster down the corridors. "And no I didn't. And I have a question for you: You've been living on this block for about a month and you haven't once seen one of those monsters?"

"Uhm," Alse paused in thought. "No, not really."

"Not really," Mahad repeated. "What do you mean by that?"

Alse looked at Mahad. The two of them turned around quickly when they hear a roar. They started running again, but it was in a matter of seconds when they were both captured by the demons.

* * *

Wayan had no idea where he was going. He had no idea what was happening. He tried to follow the sounds of a wall crashing down, then the scream of a young girl. But he was getting lost. 

Wayan found himself in a dead end. He takes out a small radio. "Cortes, this is Wayan," he dispatchers. "Do you read me?" But static was his answer. He tries again. "Dahlia, this is Wayan. Do you read me?" Once again, static was his answer. He tries one more time. "Cheng, this is Wayan." And again, he got static.

Wayan began to run back the way he came. He didn't like not getting a respond. But as soon as he was about to enter the corridor he came from, he heard the approaching demons. Wayan went down the corridor he had yet to run through. All he can do is hope that it's not a dead end.

Wayan turns his head enough to see the glowing yellow eyes in the distance. He looks back to see where he was going and WHAM! He hit a door. Wayan hurried to open it and ran in. It was a stair case. He closed the door and ran down it.

SPLISH! He was knee deep in water. He takes a deep breath and dives under. Wayan was now at the water flooded floor beneath the block. He swims to the surface until his head breaks above the water.

Wayan recognizes where he ended up. The same floor he just escaped from and the same area where he helped save Mahad. But, standing at the edge of the water were the demons. Quickly, Wayan swims the other way. They weren't going to let him get away that easy. One jumps above the water and dives right on top of Wayan.

Now everyone was captured.

* * *

**A/N: I realize I use 'corridor' a bit much. Oh well... I can't help it.**


	3. Chapter 3

Cortes regained consciousness. _Please let this be a bad dream._ Cortes thought with his eyes closed tight. _Please let me be asleep in my cabin._

"Cortes," mumbles Cheng. "Cortes, are you okay?"

"Yes, Cheng," Cortes sighs in despair. He opens his eyes and sits up. "I'm fine."

Cortes examines the room they've been isolated in. The walls were covered in black mould and moss and were dripping water. Dim light was bleeding from small crevasses and extra light was provided by a lamp and a few flashlights. Cortes looks straight up and sees the shine of water through the vine covered, mould stained glass. They were directly beneath the building.

Lena was next to wake up. "Mahad," she calls out. "Where are you, big brother?"

"AAH," Mahad and Alse seemed to have a nightmare that woke them up at the same time. They realize they were clung to each other and yelled again. The two jumped from each other. Then they realized they were trapped in a dark, cold room. They yelled again.

"Stop screaming," Dahlia yelled, holding her head. "I have a headache."

"You have blood in your hair," Wayan pointed out.

"And you're soaking wet," She replies. "What happened?"

"Tried to escape by going underwater," He answered. "But they were waiting for me to come up for air. What about you?"

"No time for idle conversation," Cortes interrupted. "Aye, this couldn't get any worse."

"Are you so sure about that," a voice taunted behind them. Cortes spins around wide-eyed. Oslo was standing at the shadowed corner of the room.

Cortes turned back to the rebels. "It got worse," he says. Cortes began leading the rebels to the far end of the room. Cortes turned around and pointed to both of his eyes. Then he let out his index finger and pointed at Oslo.

Oslo grinned. There was bite marks on his head and blood had lightly dripped down to stain his white uniform. Behind him was Diwan who was standing stiff for her back had been clawed and the wound was still zapping her nerve.

Time went by painfully slow. One by one, the rebels sat down and Diwan collapsed. Eventually, Cortes and Oslo were the last two standing. It was a stare-off-stand-on. And he couldn't take it anymore. Cortes took a few steps back until his back was against the wall. He slid downward and on the ground. To his surprise, Oslo sat down the same time he did.

It was quiet. Time was bleeding slowly and the silence was agonizing. Cortes took the time to observe the rest of the Rebels. Mahad was leaned back against the wall. Lena was resting her head on Mahad's shoulder. Dahlia was slightly leaned toward Mahad and 'resting' her eyes. Wayan was slouched forward staring at the moldy ground. Alse was huddled against the wall, covering his ears and hiding his face on his knees. And finally, Cheng was leaned against Cortes' right arm. Poor Cheng was still shaken up when the demon crashed through the Saint Nazaire's windshield and pulled him out.

Cortes draws his attention back at Oslo. He hadn't moved much since he sat down. Oslo had his arms crossed, a dark glare, and a slight grin on his face. Cortes knew he was up to something.

Or was he not? Was Oslo just making Cortes nervous? If it was, it's working. Cortes started to worry. Every burden began to hit him like a ton of bricks. Cortes broke eye contact with the monster at the far end of the room. He hid his face in his hand and slouched forward.

But there was one question that hurt the most: _Will we all get out of here alive? _

* * *

What felt like an eternity was really a little over a half an hour. The silence was broken with the sound of movement behind a wall. The Rebels and Sphere turned their attention to the source. They slowly started to stand and back up as far away from it as possible. 

Opaque as it is, a claw reached out of the wall and stiffened on the ground. Steadily, the rest of demon pulled itself into the room and observed those captive. The demon's head moved slowly toward Oslo and Diwan with a grumble at the back of its throat. The Rebels were barely moving themselves.

The demon had its claw around Diwan. Its claw slowly opened and crashed into the ground and the demon bolted back after the Rebels. Its antenna claw reached forward and wrapped it's talons around the unsuspecting Mahad who let out a yell of pure terror.

"No, Mahad!" Lena cried. She gripped Mahad's hand and tried to pull him from the demon. "Let go of my brother!"

Immediately, Cortes and Wayan jumped and started prying Mahad from the sharp claws. Dahlia helped Lena by pulling her brother. It didn't do. The demon stood up and held it's caught up high forcing the Rebels to let go and drop to the ground.

"Let me go, dammit," Mahad shouted at the monster. It started moving toward the wall it came from.

"Mahad," Lena yelled. Her hands slipped and she fell. Wayan quickly leveled himself and caught her. Lena jumped out of his arms and ran after the demon, only to find herself face first into the wall. "No, Mahad! Come back! Wake me up, this is a nightmare! Wake me up!"

Lena felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and clung to Wayan and started to cry. Wayan lead the distressed Lena back to the rebels who began to comfort her.

There was a laugh. Cortes clenched his teeth and glared at Oslo. He pulled out his gun and charged after the amused guardian. Oslo began to calm down and opened his eyes. His neck was clenched, his back was against the wall and the barrel of Cortes' pistol was being pressed between his eyes.

Oslo began laughing again. "You fool," he began, his voice slightly altered. "You don't even have ammo inside that so called 'gun'."

Cortes growled. He holsters his pistol and clenches Oslo's neck with both hands.

"You really think you can kill me like this," Oslo questioned, his voice gradually becoming higher as his windpipe is squeezed. He grasped Cortes by the wrists and used his powers to loosen his grip.

Cortes realized his mistake as his feet said good bye to the ground. There it is, right in his face: Oslo's eyes were widened and he was grinning ever so fiendishly. He let go of Cortes' wrists and he found himself flying across the room like a speeding bullet and crashing into the opposite wall.

"And I know what you're thinking," Oslo continued while Cortes was lifted off the ground with the help of Wayan and Alse. "No, I have nothing to do with those monsters. I do know that they're called Montogue. But if you ask me, I think the Montogue demon have something to do with Alse. He's been living here for the past month."

Cortes looked at Alse. The clone looked back at him with the face of fear. Cortes looked back at Oslo and glared. "Stop trying to change the subject. If you ask me..."

Oslo cut in. "But doesn't it strike you _ODD_? Look at him. Not a scar where he was shot. No damage on his clothes. The only thing changed is his complexion. Don't you think it's_ weird_?" 

"Shut up," Cortes snapped. Alse jumped and Lena stopped whimpering. "Shut the hell up, Oslo! I don't want to hear you damn voice! I don't want to see a damn trace of you! I don't even want you to breathe our air, you bastard!"

The Rebels, Oslo, and Diwan stood wide-eyed. Oslo smirked and obliged. He took a step back into the corner and sat down. It was all he could do to keep from laughing hysterically.

Cortes sighed. He collapsed and stared at the ground. The fear started to sink in. It was blanketing the entire room. And it was painful.

_How are we going to get out of this one? _Cortes asked himself. He didn't have an answer.

* * *

**A/N: I had to cut this one short. Oh well. Chapter four soon.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry for the delay. insert excuse here **

* * *

Cortes stared around the isolating room. He has been scanning the walls umpteen times over and over.

"How's Lena?" Dahlia asked Wayan. Cortes drew his attention to the conversation, but kept staring at the walls.

"She cried herself to sleep," Wayan answered. Lena hadn't let go of him since the Montogue demon took her big brother away.

"Poor kid," Dahlia said. She stroked Lena's head. "Did you hear how Mahad screamed?"

"That was horrible," Wayan said. "It was unexpected. There must be something about us that the Montogues want. They'd kill us if they didn't…"

"Best not to think about it," Cortes spoke out. "That's probably what they want you to think."

With that said, they fell silent all at once. Then it was broken. Lena was whimpering in her sleep. Cortes looked back at the walls and seen the light seeping through was steadily dying.

Then he felt a strange presence. He looked at the two guardians across the room. Diwan looked as though she was asleep and Oslo was staring at the ground. Cortes looked at the rebels, but it couldn't have been them. Then he looked at Alse. It wasn't him either, for the clone was huddled in a fetal position in the corner.

_What is this feeling?_ He asked himself. _Where is it coming from? _

Cortes looked up and seen his answer. Over his head was a stiffened limb sticking out of the wall with a strange similitude with the antenna claw of the Montogue demon. Cortes jumped and backed away from the wall.

"Cortes?" Cheng questioned. "What's the matter?"

"Get away from the wall," He demanded.

Quickly, the rebels stood up and darted away. They were in the center of the room with their eyes on the limb.

"Sir, I think it's just a root," Dahlia said.

"Maybe it is," He replied. "But I don't remember it being there."

"Paranoid, much?" A voice ringed out from the behind them. Cortes turned around and scowled at Oslo. Diwan opened her eyes and gave a weird look at the rebels.

"It's gone," Wayan said.

"No way," Cortes replied, turning to face the root. "That's impossible."

Just as he said that, a claw came penetrating through the wall followed by the Montogue's head then its body. Slowly, the rebels backed up to the opposite wall and the two Sphere guardians stood up.

The Montogue demon walked across the room, but stopped half way. It leaned forward and sniffed the air before sitting perched on its powerful legs. Its tail lifted off the ground and wrapped around its ankles. The antenna claws rested by the wrists and on the shoulders while the normal claws were hung down to the ground. The Montogue just sat there, staring, pondering, waiting…

They were careful not to make a sound. It seemed that each time they inhaled, the demon would growl at the back of its throat. They stood there stiff, breathing slowly, and held back the uncontrollable urge to retreat.

Lena let out a small scream.

In a split second, a claw reached out of the wall behind them and ripped Cheng from Cortes' grip. The pirates took no time to throw themselves at the demon's claw and pull the screaming Cheng from its talons.

Oslo and Diwan quickly dodged the crowd of rebels and watched in safety close by. Oslo was holding back the need to laugh, but cured himself when he drew his attention to the Montogue demon that was already in the room. It was still there, sitting, and waiting.

Cortes, Wayan, and Alse wrapped their arms around the demon's wrist and pulled the arm out as far as they could. Just as the nose of the demon came through the wall, Dahlia and Lena opened the talons wide enough to pull the traumatized Cheng free from its grasp.

Dahlia dragged Cheng away from the claw and rested him on the ground. She looked up at the demon in time to see it throw its arm and toss the three rebels into the wall. Dahlia reached behind her back and grabbed her energy bow, but it was too late.

The Montogue demon grabbed her via head which caused her to drop her bow. It then darted across the room and escaped through the wall.

Cortes stared wide-eyed. It happened all too fast. He couldn't believe what just ensued. Then he realized his show of fear.

The Montogue sprung after the Rebels. Leaned forward in its charge, the demon's jaws opened and its teeth were just inches from Wayan's face. Then the Montogue suddenly changed its circuit. While at the same velocity, the demon stomped on the unwary Diwan and dragged her through the wall by the neck with its tail.

Cortes stared at the wall in shock. It happened all so fast. Just like that, three people were gone: Mahad, Dahlia, and Diwan. Cortes looks down at Cheng. He was huddled in his arms and muffling his crying against his chest. There was a light pink colour appearing on the back of his shirt where the Montogue's talon slit his skin.

Lena sat against the wall next to Alse. The clone was still curled in a fetal position against the wall.

"Alse?" Lena asked shakily. Slowly, he lifted his head and made eye contact with her. "Have… you… Have you seen those m-monsters before?"

Alse stared at her blankly. He finally leaned forward and stood up off the ground. He then made his way across the room and in a corner away from everyone else.

Wayan moved to Alse's former location to comfort the saddened Lena while Cortes took a note on the clone's action.

_The Montogue demon has something to do with Alse,_ Oslo's words repeated in Cortes' memory. _He's been living here for the past month. No scar where he was shot. No damage on his clothes. Don't you think it's weird?_

"Shut up!" Cortes shouted out of the silence. Before he knew it, everyone was staring at him. Cortes gazed down at the ground in embarrassment. The room felt as though it had become colder and quieter.

* * *

The silence didn't last long. It was broken when an attacked Alse crashed into the wall above the Rebels. They stood up and seen a Montogue demon standing in the corner that the clone had claimed.

Cortes tensed at the sight. He watched as the Montogue demon started to draw near the cagey Rebels. But from the corner of his eye there was a bright, blazing wave of energy raging at the demon.

Its head detached from the neck and plummeted to the ground. Black fluid poured out of the stub left on its shoulders. The head and body of the Montogue began to ooze and decay rapidly. Its skeleton became visible then collapsed from the lack of support of muscle. All that was left was a wide puddle of the black and gooey remains of the demon.

Cortes turned his attention to the source of the attack. Oslo was standing in the corner at his far left with two glowing fists. He started to approach the gunk that stained the floor. Oslo seemed astonished with how easy it was to kill the demon.

But just as he thought that, the remains of the demon began to bubble. He flinched and took a step back.

Unexpectedly, the muck lifted off the ground and lunged after the startled Oslo and engulfed him. To gunk started to form together and into the Montogue it once was.

"It ate him," Wayan said with a gasp. "I can't believe it…"

The Montogue demon opened its mouth wide and turned to the wall Oslo had once stood at. A large swirl of white energy spun around in its open jaws. A mist drained from the back of its throat and flowed out to the ground.

It let charge go. The globe made impact on the wall and shattered into many pieces, revealing that Oslo had been trapped inside. His flesh and clothes were burned and scratched. He fell to the ground and tumbled over on his side.

The demon charged after the minor inured Oslo and grabbed him by the right leg. It threw the man up toward the glass ceiling and waited for gravity to do the rest. Before Oslo hit the ground, the demon thrashed its claw downward on his back causing him to crash with harsh impact.

Oslo tried to crawl away, but the monster clutched him by the neck and thrashed him vigorously into the opposing wall. The demon let go of Oslo and allowed him to fall to the ground like a rag doll.

The Montogue demon stood up straight and began to power up another white energy attack. The orb was let lose and struck a direct impact on the already injured Oslo.

Its work was done. The demon turned to the wall next to it and walked through.

The smoke of caused by the attack cleared leaving Oslo laying wounded. His white clothes were tinted red with his own blood and he was breathing heavy.

_He got what he deserved,_ Cortes thought to himself. But looking at Oslo one more time caused him to shake off the thought completely. Oslo fought back at the demons, and for that he paid the price.

Cortes seen the damage the Montogue demon can do. He knew that was an example for the Rebels. He knew the same thing _might_ have happened to Mahad, Dahlia, and Diwan.

Plans for retaliation came to a screeching hault.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Oh, so sorry for the delay. I've been sick, in school, to much homework, ladida. ::coughs:: Another chapter I had to cut up. ;**

**And I must say too, thanks much for the reviews. Some of the questions will be answered. Maybe not in this chapter, but yeah; They'll be answered.**

**I promise I'll put the next chapter up sooner. **

* * *

The blocks in the Under Archipelago were deep beneath the thick, dark clouds. This was an endless night for the trapped Rebels. All wishing for the same thing: To go home. 

Mahad was lying on his back in what felt like soft grass in desperate need to be cut. He was just starting to regain consciousness.

_Where am I?_ He asked himself. His eyes were sealed shut and he didn't want to open them. _Was it all just a dream? Did I fall asleep in the field on Puerto Angel?_

Mahad heard something looming toward him. _A demon! _He thought. _Just pretend to be asleep, Mahad. Don't show it you're awake._

A hand pressed against the helpless shoulder of Mahad. It lightly shook him.

"Mahad," Dahlia's voice called to him. "Mahad, are you awake? Say something."

_Was that Dahlia? _Mahad questioned. _But what if those monsters can change their voice? _He refused to move in fear of it being a deceiving demon.

Seconds drained from the hour glass and finally the flat surface of the palm of a hand struck him on the side of his face.

"Ow!" Mahad yelled. His eyes snapped open and he pressed his hand over the glowing hand print on the cheek of his face. "That really hurt!"

"It was the only way I could wake you up!" Dahlia yelled back as the impolite Mahad sat up. "You could have been dead."

Mahad didn't reply. He just sat in the soft, tall grass in silence. A hand then opened up to him. Mahad stared at Dahlia's palm for several seconds and finally said, "I can get up without one's pity, thank you."

He then pushed himself off the ground. Mahad was a bit shaky and slightly off balanced on his way up. Dahlia made these observations until he stood up straight.

"You're hurt," said Dahlia. She walked up to Mahad and lifted his right arm from his side. It was hard to tell because of his red jacket; Blood had damped the side chest of his shirt. "That looks bad."

"It feels bad," He admitted. Mahad pressed his left hand against the wound and lowered his arm.

Then was a cold breeze that hit the two rebels.

Seeing the blood from Mahad's broken skin brought mental images to him and Dahlia of the injuries of the fellow rebel pirates they had been taken away from. They fell silent.

The only sound they heard was the whistle of the wind. Mahad and Dahlia were motionless with the depressing thoughts that had hit them at a painful velocity. This block was full of unfortunate disasters. Each one hurt its visitors physically, mentally, and emotionally.

The breeze calmed down and eventually ceased. However, Dahlia could still hear a strange presence. She turned around and looked to a tree in a distance. In the grass was a black figure. It was moving.

"Mahad," Dahlia said with a hushed tone. "It's a demon."

Mahad stepped out in front of Dahlia to get a better look. The grass was too thick and there wasn't enough sunlight being transmitted through the clouds to get a good look at it.

Mahad took out his boomerang and wielded it up high, ready to strike. Dahlia went to obtain her energy bow, only to realize that it wasn't on her person.

Mahad took the lead toward the object hiding in the grass. Just as it was in view, they leaped after it.

"Let me go!" A shriek cried out from under Mahad and Dahlia's grip.

What they thought was a Montogue demon was really Diwan. Seeing whom they had tackled, they jumped up off of her.

"You were right," said Mahad while Diwan got up off the ground, "it was a demon."

Diwan scoffed and Dahlia rolled her eyes. If it wasn't for the lack of sunlight, Mahad would be face first in the dirt on the other side of the block. And he seemed to know this, for he took a step back from the insulted Guardian.

Diwan took a step toward Mahad, but as her weight began to transfer to her right leg, she collapsed and tumbled and into the grass. It was obvious that she too was injured.

Mahad looked at Dahlia with confusion of what to do. Dahlia looked Mahad straight in the eye and said, "We should help her."

"What?" He responded. "Why should we?"

"Well," Dahlia paused trying to think of an answer. "Right now the only enemies are those Montogue demons. We'll need all the help we can get if we want to live and Diwan is one of them."

It took a while for Mahad to understand, but when it finally got to him, he nodded. Mahad then knelt down to the injured Diwan with Dahlia following him. They checked the wounds that invaded down her back.

"They're not infected," Dahlia pointed out. "Try to stand up, Diwan."

With that said, Diwan struggled up to her feet. Dahlia and Mahad assisted her by holding on to her arms while she pulled herself up.

Diwan had the hardest time understand why they were helping her. But rather question any further of detail from the Rebel hospitality, she kept quiet like a ventriloquist puppet.

The three of them were quiet for about half a minute. Then the silence was broken when the sound of foot steps, large foot steps, seemed not to far away.

"Now _that's_ a demon," said Dahlia with a whisper. "We have to run."

Mahad spun around in the opposite direction from which the sound came from. In his sights, through the clouds was, what looked like, the roof of the building in which they first encountered the Montogue demons.

Mahad looked back at Dahlia and whispered back, "I bet the Saint Nazaire is where we left it."

Dahlia gave him a look that showed her doubts. But with the demon's steps becoming louder with each thump of the foot, they had to at least try to find it.

Dahlia grabbed Diwan by the hand and pulled her along. With her free hand, Dahlia grabbed hold of Mahad's as to not get separated in the fog or get left behind. Once again, Mahad took the lead, running forward, but at a fair pace so is not to yank Dahlia's arm off.

Finally, they reached what they thought was the building. They had only cornered themselves against a widely spread, high-up cliff wall.

Looking up, their hearts sank. Hovering right above them, with its hatch down at the top of the cliff, the Saint Nazaire waited for its captain to return. They were so close, and yet so far.

Mahad, Dahlia, and Diwan opened let go of each other's hands and turned around. They pressed their backs against the cliff wall as the steps of the tormenting Montogue demon grew louder and its shadow began to pierce through the thick fog. What would befall these poor souls?


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Yay, chapter six! **

**This is an OC story because of Alse. It's pronounced 'AL-SAY' and he is the opposite clone of Oslo. Get it? Alse also Oslo. ::cough in background::**

* * *

With their backs up against the cliff wall, Mahad, Dahlia, and Diwan waited impatiently for their fate. As the steps of the demon became louder and the shadow through the fog became darker, the three helpless humans moved to their right along side the barricade. 

Dahlia, who was leading Mahad and Diwan, stopped when her right foot sank into something cold, wet, and mushy. She lifted her foot up from the substance and looked down. Her boot's imprint had been left in a gather of mud.

Dahlia looked up and had seen the rest of their path was almost nothing but lake. The lake was kept full by a large crevice halfway up the cliff's edge that slowly drained water out quite, but not exactly like, a waterfall. And like she had hoped, a path of land circled halfway around the lake.

She grabbed Mahad by the wrist and pulled him up in front of her. Dahlia then reached back and clutched Diwan's hand and motioned Mahad to hurry around the lake. He took off with Dahlia and Diwan right behind him.

Just as they made it around the water, the demon roared. It caused Mahad to flinch and gasp, but a hand covered his mouth and tackled him to the ground behind a rock formation.

"It didn't see us," whispered Diwan as she peered from behind the boulders.

Dahlia twitched. "Ew," she said as low as she could, jumping off Mahad. "You licked my hand!"

Mahad snickered before her got up off the ground and joined Diwan to get a look at the demon. Dahlia did likewise.

The Montogue demon was smaller than the others. Its body was very thin; the flesh was sucked up against its bones. The antenna claws were like deflated balloons, dangling lifelessly from its head to the ground. The demon's eyes were faded to a dark yellow rather than the bright glowing yellow that the many other monsters had shared.

The Montogue lowered its head to the water until its muzzle was submerged. Then it began drinking away with big gulps. Just looking at this demon was easy to determine how weak it was.

Dahlia pushed herself away from the edge and observed the scenery. There was a big gap between them and the end of the block. She looked around the walls of the cliff.

_What luck!_ She thought to herself. There was a slope path that went all the way up the cliff that they could and would use to escape.

"Mahad," whispered Dahlia. Mahad turned his head slowly to face her. Dahlia said nothing more, instead she pointed up the slope.

He followed her finger but was suddenly interrupted. Diwan jumped from her spot and landed against the back of Mahad's legs causing him to tumble backwards. Dahlia couldn't help but to snicker at the awkward incident.

Mahad rolled off the startled Guardian and pushed himself up off the ground. Diwan staggered to her feet right after.

Dahlia whispered, "Diwan, what happened?"

"There's another demon over there," replied Diwan.

Mahad peeked around the rock's edge for a split second and went up to Dahlia to confirm. "And a big one, I might add," He said.

"Then we have to run," Dahlia said obviously. She pointed up the slope grooved into the cliff. She then motioned the two to follow her.

It didn't take them long to reach the top of the cliff. As soon as they made it to the top, Dahlia slowly approached the edge of the cliff to gaze down at the two Montogue. Mahad and Diwan did likewise.

The small and fragile Montogue demon was ankle deep in the water and going deeper to get away from the bigger and more vicious demon. The minor demon took off out of the water, but its scrawny legs proved useless as the bigger demon out ran it.

Before it knew it, the minor's head was between the mightier demon's jaws. It shook its prey side to side with vigorous force until the neck had completely detached from the body.

Pointing its nose up skyward, the Montogue demon downed the severed head while the headless body flailed on the ground. After it had finished its snack, the demon devoured the boney body of its weaker counterpart.

Such gruesome cannibalism caused Mahad, Dahlia, and even Diwan to jump to their feet and back away from the edge. But the show had yet to be over.

The Montogue demon got down on all fours and began exhaling harshly with a deep moan. Its sudden act was similar to that of a cat coughing up a hair ball.

Finally, a dark grey stump fell from the demon's mouth followed by a white gooey substance that covered the strange object. It was moving.

The demon walked away from the mysterious object and to the lake to wash down the matter that remained lodged in its throat.

Dahlia covered her mouth feeling the sudden urge to throw up. "Ugh!" She groaned. "That was…" But she was cut off when she heard a crackling sound behind her. She immediately spun around to see what the source of the noise was. Mahad and Diwan did likewise.

Just out of sight, they saw a pile of wreckage covered in ash with a dying glow in the heart of it. Around the rubble were dismantled Brigadiers with deep scrapes on their armour. The rubble used to be a Sphere patrol ship…

"There goes your means of transportation, eh, Diwan?" said Mahad with a rhythm in his voice. He felt a thump at the back of his head, but it wasn't Diwan. "Ow, Dahlia, that hurt!"

"Good!"

"This was the work of the Montogues," stated Diwan, pretending not to have heard Mahad. "The Brigs seen them as an opposing threat, therefore they attacked and the demons returned the favour."

"That's what they're called? Montogue?" asked Mahad as he seemed not to care about the Patroller.

"That's what Oslo said," she replied.

"Oh yeah, what _Oslo _said …"

"Quiet," whispered Dahlia. "Now's not the time. We have to get to the Saint Nazaire."

Diwan cleared her throat before lowering her voice. "And why, exactly, do we _have _to get to your _pirate_ ship?"

"We'll have an advantage against the demons if we're airborne," she replied, "now follow me."

Not giving them much of a choice, Dahlia began walking. Mahad trailed after her and Diwan did the same. They stayed close to the outer wall of the building and crawled whenever they were about to pass a window.

Finally, the building's wall came to an end. As Dahlia peered around the corner followed by Mahad and Diwan, the Saint Nazaire came into view. But they were horrified.

The Saint Nazaire had plenty of company for countless Montogue were scattered around and on the ship. Most of the demons were picking fights with others. Some were curled up with their eyes firmly shut as they slept on chosen areas of the Saint Nazaire.

Dahlia, Mahad, and Diwan took no time to decide to run back the way they came. Just a couple minutes later, they were back in front of the remains of the Sphere patroller. All three fell to their knees to catch their breath.

"There goes that plan," admitted Dahlia with a deep sigh.

"Just wait until Cortes hears about the Monties being all over his ship," said Mahad with a chuckle. "He is going to be _pissed._"

Diwan rolled her eyes where as Dahlia actually groaned. He coughed at the reactions.

Moments of cold silence passed before Dahlia decided to jump to her feet. Mahad had to struggle against his injury just to stand back up and Diwan stood up last.

"Now what?" asked Mahad, finally.

Dahlia waited a while before finding an answer. Up to this point, she needed every bit of confidence she could get. Finally she said, "We don't want to go inside the building, that's for sure."

"We can't stay out here, either," snapped Diwan.

Dahlia groaned again. She bit her bottom lip and began to pace. She couldn't think of any thing else but to avoid the demons as long as possible. They all knew full well that once discovered by the demons, with all their power and influence, when wielded, could and would, without a shadow of a doubt, end their helpless lives.

Nothing more was said as they trailed the side of the building, only going in the opposite direction that they had gone before. Neither of them knew where they were headed.

The block's edge got up closer and closer to the building as they advanced further. They decided to stop. Dahlia sat with her back against the wall and let out another groan.

"Have we given up?" asked Mahad as he moved himself in front of Dahlia.

"No," she answered with nothing to support it.

Mahad pressed his hand over the wound that plagued the side of his chest. He looked up toward the roof of the building and leaned back against a skinny, yet sturdy tree. He let out a cold sigh.

Diwan sat in the grass feeling as though they'd be there for a while. She looked up to the clouds that separated her from the sun.

Dahlia looked at Diwan then at Mahad. She noted the blood that seeped through his fingers from his wound. But what had caught her eye was the tree. It was moving downward.

"Mahad!" She screamed. She shot herself up off the ground and after Mahad.

Almost instantly, the tree bolted down the block's edge with its five limbs around Mahad's head. He let out a yell of pure terror.

Dahlia wrapped her arms around Mahad's waist, pinning him to the ground and keeping the monster from taking him down. Diwan raced after and began to pull the limbs from his head.

As she did so, a Montogue demon raised from the block's edge until it lifted Mahad and Dahlia up off the ground. Diwan grabbed hold of Dahlia's ankles only to find herself lifted up with them. She let go.

"Yield, Monty, yield!" shouted Mahad.

Diwan ran left and right as she scanned the demon's arm of an antenna as quickly as she could. She held her hands up above her head and began absorbing as much sunlight as she could.

With one hand Diwan sent a blade-like energy wave at the Montogue's antenna arm, slicing it off. With both hands, she shot a seijin blast that was strong enough to pierce the demon's chest. It tumbled off the block with its roar of pain echoing below as it fell.

The dismembered claw remained firmly gripped to Mahad's scalp. He and Dahlia fell to the block. Diwan pulled Dahlia from falling off the edge of the block. Dahlia held her hand out to Mahad, but he had missed grabbing her hand as he continued to fall.

She and Diwan looked over the edge in terror. They couldn't see him anymore because of the thick fog. But they could still hear the series of painful crashes as he made impact on the cliff's edge. After a bigger thump that symbolized rock bottom, they remained dead silent.

Dahlia feared the worse. She gripped a couple of ridges of the cliff's face and began to lower herself down the block.

"What are you doing?" demanded Diwan.

"I'm going after him," was her only answer while she continued to descend down the cliff.

"But you don't know what's down there! What if you run into more demons? You'll be defenseless!"

"And so is Mahad if we don't save him. Besides, his sister…" Dahlia stopped there but continued descending further and further down.

"Well, I'm staying up here," said Diwan.

There was no response from Dahlia, only the sound of sand falling off the ridges as she went further down.

Diwan kept a straight face with her arms crossed over her chest. She wasn't about to change her mind, that is, until she heard a demon's roar in the distance behind her.

"Dahlia, wait for me," she called down as she began her descend down the cliff.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Yeah, sorry for the massive delay... My computer was being an ass. .-.;  
I thing I might have pulled some OOC here and there... Let me know, yarr. :b

He felt a firm palm on his shoulder that had shook his unconscious body. His eyes slowly peeled open and focused on the four blurry figures that stood over him.

"Are you alright, Alse?" asked Wayan.

Alse nodded. "What happened?" he asked weakly.

"A demon came in. It knocked you across the room and into a wall," explained Lena. She then pointed to a corner. "After that, Oslo got a savage beating."

Alse followed Lena's finger to a bloody Oslo lying in the corner. He was barely awake, his white uniform dyed red with his own blood and his breathing interrupted with a wheeze.

Alse sat up, but he found himself pulled to a stand when the collar of his black shirt was clutched and lifted his lightweight body off the floor.

"What's going on?" He asked, his voice cracked in confusion.

"You've been living down here for a whole month," growled Cortes. "I know you know something about these demons and I want answers. Now!"

"I know nothing! And if I did I promise I would've told you," Alse's voice was running fast under the pressure. He could feel the fabric of his shirt collar stiffen at the back of his neck as Cortes tightened his grip.

"Mahad and Dahlia are probably dead now because of those demons," he said. That didn't help Lena at all as she grimaced at the possible truth.

"No, they're only trying to weaken us! They won't kill us until we prove useless," He froze, his eyes widened. Alse said something. Something that showed Cortes he knew more than what he claimed he didn't know.

Cortes grinned. He slowly lowered the clone to the floor until his feet were flat on the ground. It was no surprise to him when Alse took off once his shirt was freed.

He stopped before entering the heavily shadowed area of the room and turned his head around to the rebels. The rebels flinched and took a step back.

"Run, Alse, run!" shouted Lena.

Alse spun to the shadowy area only to see it had been lightened up by two glowing yellow, narrow eyes. He spun around and started to run. The demon emerged from the shadows and snagged Alse by the left hand.

"No, let me go!" he cried, pulling his arm from the sharp fangs of the Montogue demon.

The fabric of his long-sleeved shirt began to tear from the shoulder. The flesh ripped as the razor-like, jagged teeth sank deeper and deeper until it penetrated the bone.

The demon shook its head left and right throwing Alse along with it. Finally, his arm dislocated from the elbow and out it came, blood vessels and muscle ripped out with it. The demon turned its head skyward and devoured the dismembered arm.

Alse was left on the ground, crying in pain as the blood spewed from the stump of an arm each time his racing heart thumped. The Montogue demon lowered its head down to him and sniffed his body. Seeming to have not liked the flavour, it turned around and passed through the wall like a ghost.

Cortes had covered Cheng's eyes and Lena had hidden herself behind Wayan while it had happened. Cortes waited half a minute before getting up to aid the injured clone of Oslo. Wayan, Lena, and even Cheng followed.

The blood had spread along the moldy floor and continued to stretch from Alse's body. Ignoring the pool of blood, Cortes wrapped his hands around the open wound to seal it shut.

"Wayan," he called out. "Get me a rope or something to tie his arm up with!"

"Yes, captain," responded Wayan. He searched his pockets until, to his luck, he produced a wire he had forgotten about long before the journey to the under archipelago. He handed it to Cortes. "Will this work?"

"Aye, that'll do," Cortes took the wire and began tying it around the stump of Alse's arm.

The blood finally stopped pouring shortly afterwards. With no bandages handy and the room coated in moss and fungi, Cortes had to improvise or else the large wound would be infected.

"Alse, keep your arm off the ground and walls," he inquired. "We have nothing to wrap it up in, so…" he trailed off.

Alse sat up, and then stood. Amazing, after losing so much blood he's able to stand up without the loss of balance. He placed a hand over the flesh as though to hide it. Blood was all on his black shirt and white pants. Even his snow white hair was damp and tinted red.

--

Time slipped by yet again as the rebel pirates continued their group pondering on how to escape. Alse had fallen asleep sometime ago and no one bothered to wake him back up.

"They're getting to the point where they want to kill us," said Cortes while he paced the floor of the chamber. "What are we going to do now?"

"We can always fight back," said Wayan.

"Fight back," repeated Cortes. "Fight back, you say? Oslo cut a demon's damn head off and now look at him!"

Wayan flinched and attempted to cover Cheng's innocent ears, but he was just too slow. He sighed. "At least it didn't kill him."

Cortes looked at Cheng then back up at Wayan. He was ready to say something more, but was cut short when he heard a low, silent moan. Everyone's attention was sent to the corner where the bloody Oslo lay. So much pain brought in just a split second.

"That's it," said Cortes, almost in a whisper. "We're getting out of here once and for all."

Wayan stood there. He wanted to ask how, but figured he wouldn't get a reasonable answer. He turned around to check on Alse, but was stunned. He spun back around to his captain. "Alse's gone!"

"Alse, stop!" shouted the startled Lena. The fretful pirates looked at Lena and traced her sight to Oslo's direction, just in time to see him being plunged into the wall and fallen over on his side. A low, painful grunt followed promptly.

"What are you doing, Alse!?" shouted Cortes. He withdrew his pistol and aimed it at the clone as though he still had ammo.

Alse raised his hands. The eyes of the rebels widened. His entire left arm had healed completely. The flesh of the sleeveless arm was as pale and colourless before it was ripped off. Once more, the blood that stained his pants, shirt, and even his hair had faded away.

"What are _you_ doing?" asked Alse as though he did absolutely nothing. He took a step forward. He seemed to have a dark look about him. No longer was he Oslo's opposite, it seemed.

Another step, then another. He decided to go after the pirates.

"Put him down, Wayan!" shouted Cortes.

Wayan knew exactly what that command meant. The only problem was he had no gun. Or a heavy object, for that matter, which could be used as a projectile and strike Alse on the head.

Wayan quickly scanned the area until his foot landed on a lump on the ground. Two yellow glowing rods shot out from under his feet, causing him to withdraw. Wayan got a better look at it. Dahlia's energy bow that had been left abandoned during her abduction.

With slight hesitation Wayan picked it up, turned on his heels, and took aim at Alse, who apparently, was now part of the enemy. The sound of the charging arrow met its peak; it was ready to fire. One finger let go then, with hesitation, the second.

In a split second, Alse's arms fell to his sides. Then he fell to his knees. With his nostrils like a faucet, blood poured out. The bright yellow arrow, lodged in his trachea, died away which then allowed blood to spurt out of the gapping wound in his neck. Alse's pale blue eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell to his side.

They seemed to have a moment of cold, dead silence until it was broken by a groan. Wayan kept the energy bow activated as it proved to be a better light source than the old lamp that had lost its fuel to burn.

Cortes slowly made his way to where Oslo and his dying clone now lay. Wayan followed only part of the way. Lena and Cheng stayed behind, their faces still hidden in their hands with the occasional separation of fingers for a quick peak.

Alse suffered. He struggled for breath, only to gurgle on the blood that overflowed his mouth. His body twitched like a fish on dry ground gasping for breath. His lungs filled with the thick red fluid.

Cortes gritted his teeth at the sight of Alse as his life slowly slipped away. He looked up at Wayan with a gaze of guilt. Wayan returned the very same stare.

The grunts of the fading Alse finally came to a stop. The blood ceased its spurting raid as the heart stopped beating. Cortes poked at his leg with the toe of his boot and felt the lifeless movement of the limb.

Cortes looked at the floor where Alse had thrown his original self, Oslo. His eyes widened and he could feel that his heart had skipped a beat.

He asked himself out loud, "Where did he go?"


	8. Chapter 8

Cortes had become frightened. The energy bow in Wayan's hands filled the dark, cold chamber with a warm glow. But Oslo was nowhere in sight.

He knew something was coming. Cortes turns back around to head back to his fellow rebels, but was stopped in his tracks. A stream of thick, clear, gooey-like substance fell just inches in front of Cortes' face. He had a pretty good hunch on what produced such a liquid and it was confirmed when he looked up to the ceiling.

Like a spider on the wall, the demon rested right above them on the glass ceiling that separated them from the large amount of water above. Drool slowly seeped out from its jaws with a low rumble in its throat. Oslo was almost upside-down and limp, clutched inside the Montogue's right antenna claw.

Wayan moved his hand closer to the energy bow. He knew the consequence if he attacked, but his captain stood almost across the room with no ammo in his pistol which made him vulnerable.

Cortes began to inch his way back to Wayan, Cheng, and Lena. It didn't surprise him when the demon began to follow his movements. He froze; the demon did the same. Cortes began moving again, but a little faster.

He planted his foot into the grounds and took off, only in a different direction. Just as fast as he bolted off, the Montogue demon landed in front of him, causing the panicked Cortes to run into it.

He looked up and seen his reflection in its shiny demonic eyes. The demon opened its mouth and more of its thick saliva poured out. Its mouth began to glow as a misty white orb slowly grew on the tip of its grey, pointed tongue; which was attached to the roof of its mouth.

Cortes backed up, but became more panicked when his back came into contact with the wall. The misty white orb was charging with a deep roar that grew with it. There seemed to be a higher wine that started to overcome the sound of the deep, slower roar of the demon's power charge.

The orb looked as though it was ready to fire. The demon made a snarl in the back of its throat as it got ready to release it on poor Cortes.

It fired.

There was a sound of a body falling to the ground. Debris fell from the wall and on Cortes' arms that was used to protect his head. It was not he who got shot, nor he who fell. Cortes parted his arms and looked up.

The Montogue demon had dropped Oslo to the ground. There was now a deep hole in the wall just right over Cortes' head. _It missed, _He thought, _on purpose?_

On closer inspection, no it wasn't. A glowing arrow disappeared from the back of its neck. Black goop now leaked from the wound and along down the dark blue stripe that followed from the narrows of the demon's eyes, down the spine, and to the tip of the tail.

The demon turned on its attacker: Wayan. He was already charging another energy arrow, ready to jam it through the demon's eye when it came after him. Cortes got up and ran to Oslo's side. The Montogue seemed too focused on Wayan to notice.

Wayan released the second energy arrow, but his hands that trembled in fear caused it to miss. He dropped the energy bow and shoved Cheng and Lena as far from him as possible. He turned back to the demon just in time to see it as it lunged at him like a lion leaping for its prey.

His back slammed into the wall behind him. An entire claw grabbed his head and swung him into the air. Wayan let his body go limp with not much of a choice.

His body slammed against the floor and was engulfed in a bright white mist that stung and burned his flesh. Wayan inhaled and felt as though his throat was torched, forcing him to hold his breath. His eyes watered and strained when he tried to see what happened.

Everything went black.

----

They kept still and quiet. With nothing to brighten the room, they couldn't tell where the demon would be next. Finally there was a click and the energy bow glowed and lit the room.

Cheng was huddled on the ground where he picked up Dahlia's bow. His hands shook and his body quivered, but part of stress was released when there was no demon in sight.

Cortes waited for a good several seconds before he pulled Oslo up off the ground and lugged the limp man over to where his fellow rebels were. Cortes dropped him on the ground near by and tended to Wayan.

"Wayan," said Cortes. He rolled him on his back and begun shaking him. "Wayan, wake up. Say something!"

Wayan moaned. "Captain…"

Cortes sighed in relief. He helped Wayan to sit up. He coughed and blood spurted out his mouth. Wayan had bit his tongue during the ordeal that caused his mouth to fill with red goop. He was leaned over to the side to allow it to pour out on the floor.

Lena backed up and was startled when she stepped on a big lump that caused a groan. She got to Cortes' side before she seen what she had stepped on; Oslo's leg.

She murmured to herself then said, "Sorry."

Cortes gazed over to Cheng and Wayan. Wayan had ceased the bleeding of his tongue and was cleaning the blood off his mouth. Cheng sat next to him with the energy bow in his hands and looking around the room.

Suddenly, Cortes had an idea. He stood up and turned to the wall that had received the damage that was originally meant for him. The chunk left in the wall was deep and continued to drop small portions of debris and dust.

He looked at Lena, then Oslo, Cheng, and Wayan. He tried his best to figure out where each puzzle piece should go until the picture would become clear. Cortes looked up to the ceiling where the water glistened behind the glass thanks to the bright yellow glow of the energy bow.

Suddenly, there was a movement. A long dark shape bolted overhead which made the water quickly shift and cause bubbles to rise from the momentum. Cortes flinched and looked back to the others to see if they seen it too. They didn't.

He looked back up at the over-head aquarium only to find that the water was back to its still, dark status. To that point, Cortes believed he was seeing things. He closed his eyes and took in a deep sigh. Opened his eyes and there was a big, round, yellow eye with a skinny, pointed pupil down the centre, staring at him through the glass.

Cortes stood there, petrified. His eyes snapped open and much as they could. His mouth muscles gave up, causing the bottom jaw to drop. Cortes wanted to shout to high heavens, but he had temporarily lost his voice.

Suddenly, the job was done for him. A high-pitch scream sliced through the damp, cold air and rattled the eardrums of the poor by-standers who had absolutely no time to cover their ears.

"Okay," said Oslo who was finally snapped to his senses thanks to Lena's shrill shriek. "What the hell?"

"What is that thing!?" cried Lena.

Anyone who hadn't looked up before had finally done so. The eye slowly closed its lids until it had completely disappeared. Hearts throbbed and sped as they imagined what kind of demon would have such a huge eye and, once more, be spying on them; and just _how_ long.

Something was still wrong. Cortes was still in shock. He stood there and scanned the ceiling over and over. Wayan stood with a hands on Cheng's shoulder. Oslo had forced himself to a stand by ignoring his pain and using the wall to his advantage. They waited.

A line grew from the end where the ceiling met the wall. It traveled from one end to the other and branched in between. Water forced its way through these crevasses begun to spray itself upon the humans below.

"Run!" commanded Cortes. The rebels and Oslo had a look of bewilderment as he darted off across the chamber. After seeing their dumbfounded expressions, Cortes called back, "Dammit, don't just stand there! Get your asses over here and help me bring down this wall!"

Finally they understood. Lena, Cheng, and Wayan ran after their captain. And, for reasons unknown, Cortes ran back to retrieve Oslo after seeing he was too weak to walk on his own.

As they kicked, punched, and shoved against the already inflicted wall, Cortes had a consideration. _What if there's a dead end behind this wall? _But he quickly shook the thought off.

They were all desperate. They'd try anything to be free again. Even if it means they'd be found months, or maybe even years later, with their corpses at the final stages of rigor mortis and swollen from being submerged for so long.

Wayan swung his fist at the wall as hard and fast as he could. It seemed as though his arm was eaten when his fist broke through. He pulled his arm free and dim light shown through the hole.

The cracking overhead became louder and the water poured through faster. Before they knew it, the water was up to their ankles.

Cortes took a few steps backwards and charged after the wall. He crash tackled against it and forced the rest of his weight to bring it down. Wayan continued to strike around the weak point. He only started the same technique his captain performed after his knuckles split open and bled.

The barrier that separated them from freedom began to crumble and shift outward. The glass cracked faster and the water came down like a hurricane's downpour. They were knee deep and soaking wet.

The glass and the weakened wall divided. It started a chain reaction and the weight of the water finally broke through. The small chamber filled in an instant with the death liquid, broken glass, and debris.

_So close… _


	9. Chapter 9

Cortes eyes were wide open. His sight was blurred, but he could see enough to claw at and widen the hole in the wall. Water gushed out faster as it begun to crack and expand.

He strained. Cortes' exerted energy caused his body to crave more oxygen. But he didn't stop and neither did Wayan. Oslo soon decided to pitch in and help Cortes and Wayan. His dried blood was washing off his clothes and skin and gave the dark waters a pinkish colour.

Cheng was clung to Cortes' tartan belt. Lena was huddled close to the wall with her hands busy covering her mouth and nose.

----

Dahlia and Diwan took a brief break on a small ledge far down the block. They were in a small cleft in the cliff that looked to be worn into by a strong rush of water; most likely a rain storm.

Dahlia had sliced her palms, fingers, and arms open during her descend. She tried to wipe the wounds clean of sand as it stung like a paper cut in salt water. She didn't do much of a good job, but she didn't care. Dahlia only worried about Mahad, who crashed down repeatedly on his way down.

Diwan had slipped a couple times, but had somehow managed to keep a firm grip on a ridge to prevent her from falling to the same fate. Diwan now had a single gash on her right palm. So deep, in fact, that the skin could be pulled back to see the bone.

"Hey, Diwan," said Dahlia to break the silence, "has Oslo ever told you about those demons?"

She shook her head and answered, "Just their names." Diwan looked out the exit of the crevice, which was just a few steps away. "I don't think we'll make it out of here alive."

"Don't say that."

"Too late."

Dahlia rolled her eyes. She pictured Mahad saying the very same thing and became more upset. He was probably dead. Or worse, still dying and in so much pain. He would wish someone would find him, and soon, so they might fire a swift bullet through his skull, killing him in and instant and ending his suffering.

Dahlia actually hoped that Mahad had the fast and painless death if there was no hope for him. She slid down the side of the wall until she sat. Dahlia wrapped her arms around her knees and hid her face.

Diwan kept quiet. The Sphere agent didn't know what to say and wouldn't even try. She just stood in silence, staring at her bloodied right hand until she felt light headed. She sat down, not wanting to fall over on her face.

Dahlia heard the sound of Diwan's blood pelting on the ground. She looked up and literally caught her red handed. Dahlia reached up and grabbed her by the wrist.

"What are you doing?" Diwan asked, slightly startled.

"That needs to be wrapped up," said Dahlia. She looked around the ground that was covered with a variety of rocks and pebbles.

"Yeah, with what?"

Dahlia ignored her until she found a stone with a sharp side; possibly an arrow head. She knelt down next to Diwan and used the stone to rip her left shirt sleeve from the elbow down. She then ripped the fabric at its side stitching and used it to wrap Diwan's hand.

After the knot was securely tied, Dahlia wiped Diwan's blood off her hands and watched as the Sphere guardian examined her wrapped hand.

"Thanks," said Diwan with a stale voice. She seemed to be a bit confused as to why the pirate helped her. Then again, she dared not to even ask why.

Suddenly, they heard something; a banging from behind the cave wall. They stood and backed away. They expected it was a Montogue demon coming after them. Oh, they were wrong.

A fist burst from the wall with cotton fluff around the wrist and a brown shirt sleeve. The arm quickly retreated back into the hole and continued to strike around it.

"Wayan!" Dahlia called out. She ran over to the wall to help pull the rock free but was stopped.

The hole in the wall gushed gallons of water at a time and it all rushed out to the exit, brushing over the edge like a thin water fall. Diwan moved up closer to the sides of the cave walls.

A few seconds later, Dahlia had a hold of someone. She pulled the young boy out and rested him on the ground. Cheng began to cough and he spat up water.

"Cheng, are you okay?" she asked, patting him gently on the back.

Cheng opened his eyes and stared at her for a short second, slightly puzzled as to where she had come from. He nodded then pointed back to the water-bleeding hole. Cheng would have said something, but his coughing got in the way.

She looked up just in time to see Lena fall out of the hole and crawl away to safety. She coughed and shivered from the cold. Dahlia ran after the gap and began to pull around its edges.

----

Wayan pried and pulled at the stone that gradually became weaker as the water gushed out the fracture in the wall. He was suddenly stopped when he felt a palm press on his shoulder. He turned his head and seen the blurry image that was his captain.

Cortes motioned him to the opening but Wayan refused. Despite his image being fuzzy from the water, he could see the struggle as his body fought for air and felt the water's movement as his body twitched in his attempts to resist.

Wayan wanted out just as much as Cortes, but he wouldn't jump out the hole to fresh air without knowing weather or not his captain would follow right after.

Wayan felt himself being pushed. His wrist was gripped by a hand that came in from the gap. No choice; he would go first.

----

"Wayan," said Dahlia as she pulled him out, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Wayan said, "but Cortes is still inside."

"Right, I'm on it."

Dahlia jumped to her feet and ran back to the stream that continued to surge out. She waited with her arm inside the gap and waited for her captain to grab her hand.

----

Cortes watched helplessly as the precious air bubbles slipped out his mouth and nostrils, up, and in front of his eyes. His arms felt heavy and his sight slowly faded. His vision, deeply hazed, got a glimpse of the hand with the black sleeve around her wrist.

He reached for Dahlia's hand, but his body shifted away. Before Cortes faded to a state of unconsciousness, he felt the cold rush of water down his throat and something that had wrapped around his chest.

_This is a death I would never expect to happen to anyone on Skyland,_ was his last thought.

----

"Cortes, hold on!" shouted a muffled voice. Cortes felt his lungs fill with air and his chest pushed on.

His eyes snapped open. Wayan and Dahlia jumped when their captain erupted in a range of coughs and gurgling choking noises as the water shot up out his throat. He rolled over on his side to help empty his lungs.

A minute later he sat up and asked, "How'd you get me out?"

"Not us, captain," said Dahlia. She aimed a finger at the Sphere agents. "Oslo did."

Cortes stared in a bit of surprise. Oslo gave him no more than a glance and said with a firm, "We're even."

Cortes closed his gapped mouth. He looked up and processed the fact that Dahlia stood in front of him, uninjured—well, not seriously anyway—and alive. He looked back at Oslo and seen Diwan. After looking around a little more, he asked himself, _Where's Mahad? _

"Mahad fell off the block," said Dahlia, as though she had read his mind. "Diwan and I were climbing down after him and we took a quick break here."

Lena's worried expression darkened into a face of sadness. There might've been tears mixed in with the water that dripped from her bangs and down her face.

"Well," Cortes began, "we're not getting anywhere here, now, are we?"

With a nod, Wayan offered Cortes his hand. He grabbed hold of the presented hand and was pulled up to a stand. Once up, Cortes' soaked body was struck by the chilled wind and made him shiver.

The water still poured out of the hole, but stronger. The wall crumbled around and caused the hole to widen. Cracks branched out and raced to the other side of the barrier. Strings of water sprouted from new openings here and there.

"I think we should run," stated Oslo, having noticed the new problem.

"To where?" said Dahlia. "We're in a cave on the side of a cliff. How will we escape?"

"Very simple. Jump and pray," he snapped back.

"Shut the hell up, Oslo," hissed Cortes.

"Everyone shut the hell up!" barked Wayan.

Like an avalanche, the wall tumbled down. The tons of water that still remained rushed out and over the edge of the cliff and brought the rebels and the two Sphere agents with it.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **Nope, ain't over yet. :B

* * *

Cortes opened his eyes just in time to see the world stop as his body slammed into muddy grounds. On his back, Cortes gagged and coughed. _That hurt like hell…_

Wayan had his arms around Cheng to protect the young boy. He landed close by, slightly thankful that the mud help cushioned their fall.

Soon after her landing, Lena sat up and spat the muck out of her mouth. "Uhg, gross," she moaned. She looked up just before being crashed into by a falling Dahlia. "Ow…"

"Get off me!" shouted Cortes. He pushed Oslo's limp body off him and stood up.

Oslo got up to his feet and tripped as he took a step forward. He sat up again and looked to what had caused him to fall. It was just a root. Diwan landed in the mud not to far from him.

Cortes knotted his hair to squeeze the muddy water. He took a step forward toward Wayan and Cheng, but stopped. He felt a lump in the ground. Cortes looked down and decided to reach down to see what it might be.

"Hey, Dahlia," said Cortes. Dahlia turned around and faced her captain. "Catch."

Dahlia opened her hands just in time to grasp the energy bow. She shook the mud off it and clicked it on. "Thanks," Dahlia said with a smile.

Oslo had finally got up to a stand. His foot sunk into the soft muck and caused him to fall over once again. He laid there and groaned.

"Ah!" Oslo suddenly shouted. Cortes bolted around to see what caused his yell.

Diwan ran after her commander and offered him her hand. He grabbed hold and was pulled up to a stand. Right behind him, a mud-covered _thing _fell back into the muck. "What is that?" said Diwan.

Dahlia readied her energy bow and Cortes slowly moved toward it. He moved the thing up from the mud and wiped what should be the face. Dahlia's eyes widened. She lowered the energy bow down and ran next to the body.

"Is he okay?" She asked instantly.

"He has a pulse," Announced Cortes. He lifted Mahad's body off the ground and walked as fast as he could to solid terrain.

Wayan raced to his side and attempted to pull the dismembered Montogue claw off his head. Once off, Cortes carefully eased Mahad on the ground. Puddles of water surrounded them which, in a way, was a good thing.

Lena scurried to her big brother's side. She knelt down, careful not to get in anyone's way in helping him. She was upset with what she was seeing.

Mahad's expression was nothing more then pure agony. Blood and mud covered his body and sleeves were torn off his shirt and even his pants. He had lost his left shoe and a sharp stone had lodged itself in Mahad's side. His right leg was swollen and purple.

"Mahad, can you hear me?" Cortes asked. He lightly smacked Mahad on the side of his face. He looked up to his fellow Rebels. "Quick, get me some water."

Dahlia had to improvise on how to transport water from a puddle to Cortes and the injured Mahad. She cupped her hands together to fill them with the water and, very cautiously, she walked it to her captain.

"Pour it on his face."

Dahlia blinked her eyes twice before doing so. Mahad's eyes twitched and he made a groan. Cortes lightly smacked him on the side of the face again and said, "Mahad, wake up."

"Cortes?" said Mahad with badly hoarse voice. He opened his eyes and focused up at him. "What…"

"Relax, Mahad," instructed Cortes. He had to push Mahad back on the ground when he made an attempt to sit up. "You fell really far down. You're lucky to be alive."

Mahad murmured something to himself but not even he could understand what he said. He noticed a blurry yet familiar figure near him. Mahad forced his head to turn toward it. "Hey, little sister."

Lena couldn't hold back her tears anymore and allowed them to stream down her face. Though she held back her urge to give her brother a hug in fear it might cause him more pain.

Lena swallowed the knot in her throat and managed to say, "How're you feeling?"

"Sore."

* * *

Oslo shifted his attention away from the rebels. Not only to ignore what he believed to be a sappy reunion with someone who should be dead, but also because he had a bad feeling.

Diwan was helping Oslo to stand since he had twisted his ankle when he fell back into the mud. She wasn't paying much mind to anything. Just pondered to herself; mostly wondering how they'll get back to the Monolith.

Their thoughts blanked out the fact that a bubble rose from the muck they stood in and a large one at that. The bubble popped, but its sound didn't deter the two Sphere agents.

Where the bubble had been, a tentacle-like _thing _snaked its way around Oslo's leg. It was careful not to touch him— at least, not yet.

It kept going up: two times around Oslo's left leg, one time around his body alone, two times around his chest and left arm, and one time around his neck. When he saw it going around his neck Oslo realized he was pretty much doomed.

Before he had a chance to let out a yell the limb tightened itself on the chosen parts. The end- around his neck- cut off his ability to cry for help. Oslo flailed as much as he could, but with only one arm and an injured leg, there was not much he could do.

"Commander Oslo!" Diwan screamed. She went to help, but something more was wrong.

She had stood in one place for too long and now her leg was stuck in the mud. Diwan struggled to get free, but the pulling on that one leg brought a throbbing pain to her knee as the joints dislocated. Diwan watched in awe as her commanding officer disappeared under the muck where he once stood.

* * *

"What just happen?" Wayan shouted. He only got a glimpse just at the near end.

"I don't know!" snapped Diwan.

"The ground ate Oslo," mumbled Mahad. He was still in a daze.

Cortes looked over to the spiral pattern left in the muck where Oslo was pulled under. He groaned, "What are we in for _this _time?" He paused as though he expected an answer.

Almost on cue the puddles around them made a sudden ripple. In the centre of each one a droplet of water would bounce strait out of the water then back where it came from. Cortes looked down at on of the puddles and watched it.

It happened again. Then again. Then they could hear it. One low beat after another. They knew pretty much what it was. Cortes looked up and seen its shadow slowly darkening in the fog.

Its figure broke out of the fog. It was a Montogue demon, alright. But it looked _different_.

The demon's arms where much longer and the knuckles brushed on the ground. Its eyes emitted a glowing mist that dripped like water off the demon's cheeks. Its skin was loose and wrinkled. The Montogue demon's antennae-like horns were as long as its body and left to dangle the claws at the ends of the flexible horns over its shoulders.

The demon's mouth was shut, but it had six long fangs—the master fangs—sticking from its mouth. The dark blue stripe that went down its back to the tip of its tail was blood red instead. The crimson stripe branched out here and there giving the demon's black skin a bit of a tiger pattern.

Its legs were longer making it taller. There was a bit of a limp; probably because of its appearance of an old age. Its tail looked longer than the body. Mostly because, that wrapped multiple times and held over the demon's head, was Oslo's limp frame. His scarlet blood dripped from his wounds and traveled down the coiled tail like little kids going down a slide. It was hard to tell if he was alive or dead.

Cortes gulped down his fear. To him it felt like swallowing a golf ball or a sharp rock. Or maybe even a knife. He wanted to take off as fast as he could.

But to _where? _The fog itself made the block into a maze. And the Montogue demons most likely knew its labyrinth inside out making any attempts for escape a free pass to get their heads bitten off.

A minute passed. Felt like it took an hour just for those sixty seconds to drag by. Still no sound was made. They knew the demons couldn't speak English. And even if they did, what would they say?

Finally the silence snapped in two. The older demon opened its mouth and made a wailing howl. It sounded like a pissed off cat that had been rudely wakened.

"Ahg!" yelled Mahad. What used to be too-weak-to-move arms shot up and clutched his ears. "Get out of my head!"

"Mahad?" Lena moved a hand slowly to her brother who squirmed almost like he was having a seizure. The second her hand touched his shoulder, Lena was pulled up off the ground.

"Stand back," Cortes demanded. He kept and eye on Mahad while Dahlia and Wayan watched the Montogue demon continue to yowl. Cheng hid himself behind Wayan. He was indeed scared.

Mahad's body went limp. His arms flopped back on the ground and his expression relaxed into a blank yet agonizing face. Cortes kneeled next to him and lifted his wrist off the ground to test his pulse.

Cortes felt a weak beat. Then the pounding thump in his own chest when Mahad's eyes snapped open and he grabbed hold of Cortes' wrist.

Mahad's eyes glowed bright yellow and mist bellowed out of his mouth. It was enough to cause Lena to scream. Wayan and Dahlia spun on their heels just in time to see their captain be shoved to the ground.

"Greetings to you all, wretched humans," said Mahad in a voice that sounded ever so fiendish. He side walked to the left until he was between them and the Montogue demon. "I am the Elder."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **Sorry about the wait. Heh...There _should _be one more chapter to go after this. If there's more than one more chapter- which I doubt- we'll find out. R&R.

* * *

"I'm sure I have got a lot of explaining to do," said Mahad for the Elder.

"You sure do," growled Cortes while he picked himself up off the ground. He stepped between Wayan and Dahlia and gave a brief look toward Wayan that told him, 'Protect Cheng and Lena.' "But don't use Mahad like a puppet!"

"Why not? His spirit is weak and this one in my tail makes a good power source."

"You're sick."

"Thank you," Mahad grinned. He was possessed by the demon. He was ready to continue when the rebel captain cut him off.

"What do you want with us?" hissed Cortes.

"Now, now," said the seized Mahad, "it's rude to interrupt."

"Like I give a damn!" He roared.

"Let go of my brother!" Cortes spun around to see who disrupted him. It was obviously Lena, but the outburst worried him.

Cortes turned his attention back to the Elder. Its 'slave' roared with laughter then reopened his glowing yellow eyes. "Aw, isn't that sad?" He said in a dark, teasing tone. "The little girl is worried about her big brother. It's so cute; I think I might throw up!"

Lena whimpered. The sight of the injured Mahad being controlled by an unholy monster made her wish to cry. But Lena did the best she could not to.

"Humans," started Mahad. "We used to be humans. Then the Earth shattered all those years ago. Our blocks sunk far below what you call _Skyland._ But _this _isn't Skyland. This is the Under Archipelago. We seldom get any sunlight and it remains covered in miasma."

"So you evolved," said Wayan, "to adjust."

"I guess you could say that," replied the demon. For reasons unknown to the rebels, it had moved Mahad's hands behind his back and moved an antenna claw down to clutch him on the head.

Oslo's eyes snapped wide open. His jaws locked tight together with growls of pain seeping through his teeth. Oslo's body glowed and sparked light blue and the seijin energy was forcefully sucked out and into the Elder's tail.

Elder let out a low grumble. The pure red stripes along its back and tail flushed brighter. The streak that went down the ends of the antenna claws released the light blue radiance and into Mahad.

"What the hell are you doing!?" demanded Cortes.

Oslo dropped his head and his body relaxed. The stripes that traveled along the spine of the Elder went back to their normal, ruby red colour.

The demon's master let out a series of short, laughter-like roars that gradually grew louder. The possessed Mahad did the same.

Then they stopped. "Two words," he said. "Think fast!"

Mahad's sleeve-stripped arm came out from behind him and threw a basketball shaped seijin globe at the unsuspecting rebels.

Cortes moved swiftly to the right. He brought himself to the ground, pulling Cheng down with him to keep him out of harm's way.

Wayan shoved Lena out of her center of gravity, causing her to plummet to the soft earth. Too late for him, though. He turned to the oncoming orb just before it pressed itself against his chest. Wayan felt his feet lift off the ground, as well as the air being forced out of his lungs.

The seijin energy exploded and released its repressed power upon Wayan. His body, paralyzed from the shock, was sent flying away.

"Wayan!" cried Cheng.

"You sonuvabitch!" spat Cortes. He was now off the ground and standing upright.

"That was just a sample," Sneered Mahad.

"Sample!? You practically shot Wayan across the block!"

"Exactly."

Cortes gritted his teeth and spun quickly around. All he saw was an upset Cheng, the traumatized Lena, Dahlia with her energy bow handy, and Diwan who was stuck in the mud.

Wherever Wayan had landed, the sound of his crashing was far out of earshot. That or he was still falling. Instead of a heavy slam somewhere on the block, Wayan could've flown right over the edge; doomed to plunge with his body gaining speed with each second that passed by until it comes to a sudden stop on a stray block farther below.

The fear in Cortes rapidly transformed into anger. His breathing came out in louder, sharper pants. Just the sight of the demon fed his rage.

Oslo released a lengthy groan that erupted in a roar of pain. More of his stored energy was forced out of his body and absorbed into the tail of the Elder then transferred into the puppet-like Mahad.

"You have Oslo," growled Cortes. "Why don't you use _him_ to talk instead of Mahad?"

His question wasn't answered. Instead, the demon Elder pulled the mental strings that had Mahad swing his arm forward and throw another seijin orb.

Cortes' eyes widened. It was slightly smaller, yet zoomed after him much more rapidly than before. Cortes crossed his arms in front of his face and stood, ready for impact.

Her energy bow bellowed with its sound of charge. Once it reached an ear popping screech, Dahlia released the arrow.

The glowing yellow rod whizzed just inches from her captain's ear and pierced the skin of the seijin orb. The bottled up energy forced inside detonated on impact, sending Cortes on his back from the tremour.

"Huh. Nice weapon there, blondy," said Mahad with more astonishment then tease. The Elder moved its puppet forward a couple steps and his arms rose. "No more games. Now I mean business."

The Elder straightened its spine. Its mouth opened as wide as possible and sucked in air. Elder's chest and sunken in stomach expanded as they were filled. The thick fog around them cleared up, allowing more light through the clouds overhead.

Elder pointed its nose to the sky when it was finished. A ghostly white glow began from the back of its throat. As the glow started traveling to the narrow tip of its mouth, a twister-like swirl of mist poured out the sides.

At last, the Elder shoved its head forward and a beam of light fired to the lighted clouds and the demon's chest and stomach deflated back to their freakishly skinny forms.

The beam shattered once it entered one of the billows. The pirates didn't have to wait long for what it would do. The clouds grew thick and darkened. Fog that was once on the surface of the block was now feeding the clouds. By the time they finished expanding, it looked like a dark ocean looming overhead.

They stood there, silent. The rebels just watched as the demon Elder forced the seijin energy out from Oslo and shifted it to Mahad.

That's when Lena noticed something.

"Cortes," she whispered. She slowly moved herself behind the rebel captain.

"What is it?" asked Cortes, though a little more than a whisper. He wasn't about to take a second's glance off the demon's actions.

"The seijin power," started Lena. "It gets weaker with each use."

_Ah yes, _Cortes thought to himself, _she's right. _

The second he saw Mahad's arms move, Cortes commanded everyone with one word: "DUCK!"

Cortes, Dahlia, Cheng, Lena, and even Diwan dropped to the ground the stood on. The seijin sphere hurtled just overhead and smashed to smithereens on the rock face wall that was behind the rebels.

"Let's try this again," said the ventriloquist puppet, Mahad. "This time, don't move!"

The Montogue Elder began the same process of supplying Mahad with seijin energy, as though completely unaware that it was quickly depleting its source of his power.

"Dahlia, can you get Diwan out of the mud?" asked Cortes, talking fast and quiet.

"Sure, but why?" replied Dahlia.

"Because we need everyone's help," he said. "Hurry up, hurry!" Cortes got up to a stand when Dahlia took off to assist Diwan. He then addressed to everyone. "When I give the signal, run."

"Where?" asked Lena.

"Doesn't matter!" he snapped. "Just run!

Dahlia didn't need to put much effort into pulling Diwan out of the mud. The muck had softened after the Sphere guardian shifted her leg around in attempts to yank it out herself. Her only problem was there was nothing around to grab hold of _to _pull herself out. Then Dahlia offered Diwan her hand and freed the guardian from the gunk.

Mahad pulled his hand back with a baseball shaped orb hovering in the palm of his hand. Though he showed no signs of further movement.

Cortes raised an eyebrow. He had a rumble in the back of his throat, ready to announce his 'run' command. He figured the demon was biding its time; toying with them like it always seemed to do. Then he noticed the demon itself.

It had faced upward and sniffed the air. Now the Elder just stared out into oblivion, as though waiting for something to happen. But nothing did.

Until a fiery ray shot across the ocean-like sky and disappeared into the distance. From the ledge it came from, several Montogue fell from the top of the block. Thick, black blood spurted from deep wounds all over their bodies; some even lost a few limbs or even their heads.

The Elder's demon minions landed on the ground between it and the rebels. The seijin orb in Mahad's hand vanished, his eye lids sealed shut, and his body went limp. Elder looked back up to the sky and snarled.

The rebels looked up also. There was a pause then an explosion from the top of the cliff. Dust and sparks flew over the side and fell like rain.

"Okay, now run!" shouted Cortes.

The humans took off along side of the block wall. They didn't go far, since the land didn't last that long. Now the rebels and the one Sphere agent were at the edge of the block, but with a good gap between them and the Montogue Elder.

Another blast was heard overhead, followed by the cry of what sounded like a whale. Now their question was answered as to what the hell was going on when the Saint Nazaire soared out.

Montogue demons were falling off its outer surface while a small few were on the rebel ship and trying to get in. But they were easily tossed off with the sharp turning and tilting of the Saint Nazaire.

And the question on everyone's mind: _Who the bloody hell is driving the damn thing!? _


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **Sorry for the painfully long wait.

Anyway, the final chapter! But, I must say, there is a chance of a sequel if you want to see more.

**Disclaimer**_(because I save it for last chapter, don't ask why iono): _Montogue Demons, Elder Montogue, and Alse are SSpeedy's creations. Skyland and their characters are not. :gets shot:

* * *

Wayan had landed hard on his back on the Hyperion's deck. The Hyperion in question was rested on its landing pad on the Saint Nazaire.

Montogue demons, startled by his sudden entrance, crowed around and growled. Mostly at each other over who will get the first bite at Wayan.

Wayan rolled over on his side. He was winded out thanks to the seijin attack to his chest and the landing on his back. There was also an ache at the back of his head and a throb in his neck from whiplash.

His eyes opened. Though his vision was blurry, he could see the outline of the hatch to the Hyperion. Wayan reached out and wrapped his fingers around the steel metal wheel and pulled himself toward it.

Wayan forces himself to his knees and spun the hatch wheel until it popped open. Quickly, while a couple Montogue noticed their food attempting to escape, he crawled in the hatch and got a hold of the ladder.

"Oh shit!" He yelled, trying to pull the hatch door shut while the demons gathered around outside, clawing at the edges in attempt to pull it open.

One demon's arm managed to reach one of its four arms inside, forcing Wayan to leap his feet off the ladder to sway out of its reach while keeping a grip on the wheel.

When Wayan's body swayed back toward the ladder and to the Montogue's claw, his entire body weight pulled on the hatch door, slamming it shut and dismembering the unlucky demon's arm off.

Wayan got his feet back on the ladder, ignoring the fact that thick, black blood splattered on his shirt and pants. Though the pain in his chest, neck, and head were unbearable, he managed to lock the door and climb down to the ground.

Wayan clutched his chest and fell to his knees. _A quick break,_ he told himself, _I just need to rest a minute… _

Though it was detached, the arm of the demon flopped and flailed on the ground like the tail of a lizard soon after it broke off.

Wayan stared at it, watching it become weaker and weaker. The skin of the dissected arm shriveled up like a raisin. Soon it stopped moving completely; except for a twitching finger every once in a while.

Wayan took a deep breath and let it out slowly from his mouth. He crawled back up to his feet, a little shaky. He figured the shaking in his limbs wasn't from the pain, but from his lack of nourishment. Wayan sighed when his grumbling stomach confirmed it.

"How long _have _we been here?" He asked himself, thought still looking at the demon's arm as though it would jump up and hold a few fingers at him. Wayan chuckled at that little thought.

Suddenly, something caught his eye; one shock blaster and a pistol cleverly hidden behind a few pipes running across the walls. They were propped in place by a thin metal strip that kept the pipes attached to the wall.

Wayan took the pistol out of its hiding place followed by the shock blaster. He made sure the safety was on the pistol before hooking it to his belt and activated shocker. Three prongs on the front came to life and opened up. A blue electrical current flowed between each one showing it was ready for action.

"Thank you, Mahad," Wayan said with a smile. "I might not tell Cortes about this."

Wayan climbed back up the ladder. While he ascended, he could hear the growling fighting between the demons. Wayan got as high as he could, then his slipped his legs through two ladder steps so he'd be sitting.

He reached up and unlocked the hatch door. With one hand, Wayan aimed the shock blaster to the door and knocked with the other.

As expected, sounds of snarling and scratching at the other side of the hatch door. It didn't take long for the wheel to spin open and the door to swing open.

"I'm back!" Wayan shouted with a grin on his face.

He pulled the trigger on the shock blaster, creating an explosion on the first Montogue demon it struck. The tremour was enough to gust any nearby demons in the air on off the Saint Nazaire.

Wayan also found himself hanging upside down with his legs still folded over one of the steps. Though pain still pounded at his chest and he had hit himself at the back of the head again, Wayan managed to do a sit-up and grab hold of the ladder.

Wayan climb out of the Hyperion and onto its deck, relieved to see the blood thirsty monsters dealing with each other rather then the vulnerable human. But he knew that if he made a sound they would pack together, wrestle each other, chase him down, and probably eat him.

Wayan made sure the shock blaster was charged just incase that would happen. And he knew full well it would. He walked over to the edge of the Hyperion where a high stepladder waited. It wasn't high enough to reach the very end of the Hyperion, but it had to do.

Wayan turned his back to the end and carefully lowered himself off the edge. He put one foot down and pressed it on the top of the step to test its stability. It didn't wobble or shake so Wayan climbed on down.

He turned around and in front of him were a couple steps that lead to a railed walk way that was followed by the stairway. Wayan followed the path. Atop the stair way was a balcony with the door to the Saint Nazaire's control room.

Once Wayan was up on the balcony, he heard a couple grumbles in the distance. He looked in the direction of the Hyperion and spotted several Montogue demons heading his way. One of those demons had one arm missing and he figured it wanted revenge on Wayan for ripping its arm off.

Wayan aimed the shock blaster and waited. Only when they were at the very bottom of the stairway did he pull the trigger. Now the Montogue demons were in shock while they were sent flying away. Wayan charged his weapon of choice before opening the door to the control room. He walked in and locked the door behind him.

As expected, there was a demon up on the captain's platform. It was curled up in a ball and asleep. Wayan walked on the right side of the central computer and, while the Montogue slept, he typed a command in the computer and shot the sleeping beast with the shock blaster.

When the smoke cleared and Wayan got back to a stand after being forced on his back from the force, the demon was gone. Now was his chance. Wayan ran down the right set of stairs and sat down at what is normally Dahlia's control station.

Wayan had activated the Saint Nazaire on the computer and now he lifted it off the block. The Saint Nazaire's hatch closed and rose higher, preventing anymore demons from jumping aboard.

Wayan figured that the Montogue demons that were already on the ship would head straight for the shattered glass windshield to stop him. But with a sharp tilt, the monsters found themselves tumbling overboard.

Now he needed the cannons. Wayan made sure the Saint Nazaire was far enough from the block so he could take his eyes off the controls for a short minute. He took the weapon controls next to him and just let them fire. He got back to the pilot controls and kept going.

He soon found the other side of the demon block where he knew Cortes and the others were below. Wayan reached his left hand over and hit the firing button, sending another ray of power across the sky where it disappeared into the distance.

--

The Elder hissed and snarled. It slouched downward and bent its legs as much as possible. The demon watched and studied the out-of-control ship until it passed just overhead.

It sprung its legs as hard as it could. The demon Elder had slammed its tail into the ground for an extra bounce and, at the same time, released Oslo from the monster's grasp in a not-so-safe way.

The force of the slam was enough to cause a crater in the ground. And even though the ground soft from soaking water, it was still firm and enough to cause Oslo to shift and moan in pain.

Though it wasn't flying, the Elder made it high enough to pierce the haul of the Saint Nazaire with its massive claws. The Elder snarled while it clawed its way up to deal with whoever was flying the ship.

Down below, Cortes gritted his teeth. It's like he felt the Saint Nazaire's pain when each claw grounded into the haul.

"Alright, get closer to the cliff side," Cortes demanded. "We don't want to get hit by anything that falls."

"We don't want to get hit by an avalanche either," replied Dahlia.

--

"You," hissed Mahad, who was now being held in the broken in windshield.

"Me," replied Wayan, with a smile. He lifted the shock blaster and aimed it at the Elder.

Its long jaws stretched into a grin. Mahad did the same and spoke, "If you strike me down, this boy will be killed."

Wayan stopped. He was trapped. He didn't want to hurt the Elder if it meant hurting Mahad.

Wayan was still flying the ship, but it was still going wild in the air. He looked back up at the Elder demon and noticed a wobble in its stance. Wayan grinned and pulled the controls back, lifting the nose of the Saint Nazaire skyward and soaring through the dark, black clouds.

The sudden lift caused the Montogue Elder to tumble forward and smack its face on the front of the platform where the Pirate rebel symbol was engraved. Smashing its face into the platform also caused it to release Mahad who slammed into the left staircase.

Elder rose to a stand and snarled ferociously at Wayan. Then it stopped, its bright glowing eyes widened. Smoke emitted off its back. The demon turned its head and seen the sunlight becoming stronger the higher the ship ascended.

The demon Elder howled and shrieked in pain as its black and red flesh bubbled and ripped open. It quickly took off running, but now the sunlight was stronger then ever, causing it to erupt in flame. Elder cried in pain while its flesh dripped off its bone with each step it took. Each step became slower and shorter. Before long, the Elder was a fireball falling off the edge of the Saint Nazaire.

Wayan's eyes snapped open. He just wanted to get Mahad out of the demon's grasp, but he killed it instead. He put the controls forward and the Saint Nazaire's nose pointed downward but carefully this time.

--

Cortes' eyes stayed on the darkened sky. For only three minutes before he heard multiple high screeches from the demons. When he saw the Montogue demons that lied on the ground, they were literally melting. Their skin bubbled and boiled before they exploded into balls of flame.

"What the hell?" said Dahlia.

"Think that's weird?" Asked Diwan. "Look up."

Falling from the sky was a charred Montogue skeleton that still had a flame in the gut section, burning the intestines. Following the remains of the Elder, the Saint Nazaire floated down toward the block with the hatch slowly opening as it prepared to land.

Cortes and the rebels ran to the ship, confused and baffled about what happened. Just like that, it was over. The demons were dead and whoever piloted the ship was the hero.

--

Cortes was the first in the control centre. He was startled with what he seen; Wayan sitting on the ground at the head of the bench where Mahad lay lifeless.

Dahlia, Cheng, and Lena entered right behind Cortes. He walked over to Mahad and picked his hand up by the wrist.

"He's alive, captain," said Wayan, "but barely."

Lena stood behind Dahlia, tears swelling up in her eyes. Cortes turned around and said, "He'll be alright once we get him to Puerto Angel. Let's head back now. I hate this place."

Wayan went to get up with his arm over his chest, but he was stopped.

"No," stated Cortes. "You've done enough for today. Dahlia and I can handle it."

Cortes headed to his platform, feeling a bit at ease and relieved it was all almost over.Then that hint of ease flew away when he seen the giant hole that used to be the windshield. Dahlia couldn't help but to snicker at the sight of his expression.

Before long, the Saint Nazaire was on its way back home to Puerto Angel. Cheng stood with Lena next to Mahad's cold frame. Lena tried her best not to cry. She did her best to cope with the sight of her injured brother who might not make it.

A hand was placed on her should and she looked to see it was Cheng. He smiled at her only to find himself wrapped in a hug. Cheng, a little startled, returned Lena's hug in hopes it would help her calm down.

It had only taken second for Wayan to fall asleep on the ground. He was now lying on his side with his own arm as a pillow so his neck wouldn't ache more when he woke.

Lena gently placed a hand on Mahad's slowly moving chest. Inside she could feel his heart thumping. It had a slow beat, but he was alive.

Suddenly there was a twitch in Mahad's upper body. His teeth clenched with a grunt slipping out and his eyes squinted tighter. Lena flinched and removed her hand and Cheng was by her side to see what was wrong with him.

Mahad's jaw muscles loosened and his eyes cracked open. He blinked a few times, trying to clear his vision. He didn't move his head because it and his neck throbbed with pain.

"Mahad?" Lena squeaked.

"Are you alright?" asked Cheng.

"Li sisteh? Chen?" He murmured. His voice was off and sounded rough. "I'm… sore."

Cortes heard Mahad's voice. He was both relieved and worried. The damage Mahad received to the head could've left some permanent effects. They would just have to wait to find out.

Then another thought came over him: _We're going to have a hard time telling this to the Vector._

**END**


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